Dr. Hollstein is a professor of communication at the University of Utah.
“Now I know how many of the people I have covered over the years must have felt about some of the stories I did on them and their activities.”
That’s from a letter I received from a newsman mentioned in one 1981 Media Monitor column. It’s not untypical of responses from people who rarely see their name mentioned in print except as a byline. After the initial shock of seeing their work criticized in print, some have taken the trouble to write, often many close-spaced pages, about any expectation of seeing their replies in print. Some have agreed, some disagreed with my appraisals, but all have added to my appreciation of their work.
In one of the earliest columns, I mentioned that media failings result from the hard realities of news gathering, not from sinister motives. These responses have fortified that belief.
So here is a sampler of the reactions, altered in the seasons redemptive spirit:
Ted Capener, vice president of Bonneville International, on a column about KSL’s Washington bureau, which he formerly headed: “Many of those stories were, as you indicated, ‘quick and dirty’ – done under extreme time pressure. But some were not. What’s more, we often put more time into producing a radio or TV story than do newspaper reporters. As for the air time given a story, admittedly that is a problem . . . I always try to stretch the attention span of the viewer to accommodate vitally important information . . . With few exceptions, all reporting is too sketchy . . . I totally disagree that the legislators played me ‘like a fiddle.’ They sometimes tried in do that. But I always carefully edited their comments.”
Steve Tuttle, executive news producer, KTVX, on a column that pointed out the station failed to tell viewers that portions of its “Stolen Innocence” series were obtained from a syndicate: “Yes, we superimpose the Channel 4 logo over material supplied exclusively to us in this market even though the reporter is not directly employed by us. We debated this practice for some time… The reasoning is solid: We stand behind the facts and the method of presentation and want the viewer to understand that.”
Lavor K. Chaffin, long-time education editor of the Deseret News, on a column that suggested reporters show what the schools accomplish: “For the kind of reporting you talk about a great deal of time is required. If it is done well, there us no way to accomplish the necessary research and background expertise but to go into the classrooms, talk to teachers and students until you get an understanding and then take careful concern to write in terms your readers can understand. (Among the many time robbers) is board meetings. There is no consistently reliable way to judge from agendas – when you have them – when meetings will be productive … I think that in the public interest they must be covered and that to do it in a way consistent with accuracy and continuity the reporter must attend and listen to virtually everything that’s said.”
N. LaVerl Christensen, former editor of the Daily Herald, Provo, on a column that compared yesteryear’s Herald unfavorably with today’s: “Let’s talk about those 30 years. This was a period of unprecedented growth and modernization. It’s quite a story, maybe unmatched by any other Utah daily in that era. Do you really think we could have earned public support without a vigorous and effective editorial department? Overall we had a solid, well-accepted product that supplied the family’s needs for … news.” And Ben Hansen, the current editor, wrote that ”I wish you had taken a longer look at the man I succeeded and his contribution to the Herald.”
Bob Woody, business editor of the Tribune, on last weeks column pointing out that he accepted a free trip to London on Western Airlines’ inaugural flight last April, says that not only did I single him out when other newsmen were aboard but that I also neglected in mention that his two weeks in London, mostly at Tribune expense, produced many stories from his British contacts. Among these were an interview with Sohio’s chairman at British Petroleum, the parent company, after its acquisition of Kennecott Corp.
Forgive me. gentlemen, if in whittling down your comments I miss the mark, and stories and columns so often do. And thanks for helping me get rid of some old baggage as we ride into a new year.